The Tunnel

A pretty good example of two historically good, but not great, programs going in 2 completely opposite directions. A&M sort of the red headed stepchild relative to UT but still a school w excellent history of coaches like Gene Stallings, Bear Bryant, RC Slocom etc but for the most part irrelevant on the national scene for a very long time.. not even sure how long but probably 20 years.

VT, no history at all, but relevant under Coach Beamer for 20 yrs and now in total train wreck mode.. not a national power but the best of the 2nd tier for an extended period.. VT has clearly been the better program for a long time but while all of our coaches go stale.. A&M shifts to SEC (which many of us would have killed for) and completely cleans house bringing in offensive minded winning coaches along with progressive mindset in a huge recruiting footprint. 1 year later they are off to races..

Just stuck me how bad our implosion really has become when looking at a team like Texas A&M (and Clemson, FSU etc).. They had tradition and history but always seemed to in the in shadow of UT. Almost in a way that UVA has looked down on us, sort of how they turn their nose on our existence.

Now A&M could eat them for lunch because they were willing to adapt, adjust and accept the change necessary to compete at the high level. Our program is in a horrible spot, IMO, because we have huge problems but the staff will not take ownership of them while in their denial state.. sort of like a drunk or an addict that thinks it is not them or that they do not need to change..

One more tidbit. the OC just broke into coaching at any level in like 2008-2009 timeframe.. but he clearly must have an edge training under offensive minded guys like Leach. Think about that.. has been a coach for like 4 yrs! Meanwhile we have retread offensive coaches, with limited prior success in 15 or 20 yrs of coaching and an OC who is seems like a great guy, but is only a figurehead who doesnt even call the plays. Sounds pretty dysfunctional to me w an odd organizational structure. This 4 yr newbie of a coach at any level would run circles around our staff just as Clemson OC has feasted on us. I just think seasons like we are having are usually not a 1 yr anomaly.. they seem to linger while the coaches continue to try and ram the square peg in a round hole.